EFFECT OF CRUDE OIL ON BIOFILMS PHOTOCHEMICAL EFFICIENCY

Four separate mesocosm experiments (A-D) were carried out over a period of four months involving impactation of microalgal mats in cores at two levels of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) concentrations and nutrient enrichment (using nitrate and phosphate) at three levels of concentrations in the light and in the dark. The effect of periodic variation on the photochemical efficiency at the